Nasferas: The Begotten

25

Davidar followed his mother to the flight room. He knew they teetered on the precipice of complete vindication for being suspect of Fladir. Or they would face the horrific realization that they'd been completely wrong. Whatever Fladir had hidden, couldn't be tucked away. Tarisha could ferret out any thoughts. Within his mind, she had told him not to ask any questions, only to observe Fladir's reactions while she investigated. It didn't sound like a bad plan.

When they walked into the room, Fladir turned off the computer he'd been working on.

Get on that machine. Look up the last program Fladir used. I'll keep him busy.

While his mom started an idle discussion with Fladir about funeral preparations for his father and brother, Davidar stepped behind the computer console.

Password: Davidar typed, ***********

At least the password hadn't changed.

He poked around and found the last program used. A screen popped up with a word written at the top; Skype.

What is it? she asked.

Davidar found a search engine and pulled up the program. As far as I can tell, it's a communication program. You can either speak to them as if you were on a com, or you can talk to them face-to-face. He must have been talking to someone on Earth. But who? And Why?

She replied, Check the last username he contacted. Then cross reference the name with a scan of the human's intranet.

He immediately went to work and found the search engine, Yahoo. Then he began searching for the username NOS4RTU_1. This had been the contact Fladir spoke to. Davidar wasn't the systems engineer Tranz was, but he could find his way through simple programs and searches. He wanted to call back the user and figure out how Fladir knew them.

Don't do that. I can see what you're looking at. I'm searching his mind for the username. Give me a minute to ... wait. Get off the computer, Davidar. Leave the room now!

Davidar could feel the urgency in his mother's thoughts. He turned the machine off and quickly whipped around to leave the room. Fladir came at him fast. The crook of his elbow caught Davidar below the chin. Davidar's body buckled under the pressure and did a complete flip over Fladir's muscular arm. Mid-air, Fladir grabbed him by the back of the suit and lifted him. The force sent his body into the ceiling and he smashed face-first onto the floor.

A bit disjointed, but not hurt, Davidar pushed himself up, ready to fight.

Fladir whipped out a plasma pistol and aimed it at Davidar's face.

STOP!! Drop the gun, Fladir. Tarisha had her arm out, pointing at Fladir.

Fladir's arm shook as he attempted to break free from Tarisha's mental cease-fire. After he struggled for a moment, he gave in. The weapon hit the ground and landed between Davidar's legs.

"Good," she said. "Now ... sit down."

At Tarisha's behest, Fladir moved over to the Captain's chair, swiveled it around, and sat. His body seemed compliant. His eyes had turned black from crevice to crevice. He didn't want to be under his aunt's control.

Tarisha floated across the room until she stood over Fladir.

"Witch." Fladir continued to struggle against his captor both physically and mentally.

"Tell us why you sent Tranz so quickly into the Transfer Room."

Fladir's teeth ground. For a moment, Davidar thought he saw them switch from flat grinders to sharp, pointed, meat slashers.